Could You Say
by acweasley
Summary: Harry has finally defeated Voldemort, but at what cost. As Harry watches his friends pull themselves together after the battle he wonders if she will come back to him. Please let me know any feedback you have :-


**Hi everyone. So this is just a little one shot that I wrote really quickly. For those of you who are reading my George/Angelina story I haven't deserted it. I just needed a break. Let me know what you think about this. The feedback would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks guys.**

**Yeah, yeah. I don't Harry Potter :-(**

Harry made his way down the stairs with a mixed feeling of dread and relief. The dread streamed from the knowledge that every person in the Wizarding world was going to be fighting for a piece of him today, the relief from the fact that the reason they are were seeking him was that he had finally rid the world of Voldemort. He was surprised at how great he felt. Besides the inevitable injuries from the battle, he felt better than he ever had in his life. The part of him that had held the piece of Voldemort's soul was gone. He felt light, like he was actually free to do what he wanted. And he knew exactly what that was.

Harry entered the common room to gasps and whispers. They all consisted solely on "There he is" and "I wonder what he is thinking." Not a single one of them could have told you anything more about him than could be found in the papers. The ones who really knew him seemed to still be in bed. He settled down in the comfortable chairs by the fire, content to wait for them to wake up in a place so familiar. After living in a tent, jumping around from place to place, this definitely was refreshing.

He heard the whispers become more pronounced during his wait until finally one person had the nerve to approach him.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," a middle aged man said, his family peeking out from behind him like Harry was some sort of animal in a zoo. "We just wanted to thank you for everything you have done. My brother was lost in the first war against You-Know-Who. It is nice to know that it is over for good this time."

"You're welcome," Harry said, smiling shyly at the family. He may have felt lighter, but his natural shyness didn't seem to have disappeared. The family smiled back at him before slowly backing away letting their gaze jump between him and the rest of the common room."

"Oh my gosh!" a voice said behind his chair, "you are Harry Potter! Can I have an autograph?" Harry didn't say anything. He just laughed, recognizing that voice the second he spoke. Lee Jordan threw himself down in the chair opposite of him, throwing him a lazy smile. "So how does it feel to be the big hero?"

Harry sighed, throwing his head back against the headrest. "Honestly, Lee, they are all driving me mental. I'm happy it's all over and everything, but all I want to do it go sit down by the lake with my best friends." At the words 'best friends' Harry saw a pained expression flash across Lee's face before he tried to replace it. During the night of rest Harry had allowed himself to forget about the people who were lost. He let himself forget about Fred.

Fred and George had definitely been the closest thing he had ever had to real brothers. Ron was his best mate, but the twins treated him like actual family in the sense that they didn't cut him any slack. Any joke that was good enough for Ron was the same for Harry. They had been teammates and partners in crime. Harry knew nothing would ever be the same for the Weasleys.

Harry's mind involuntarily ran back to the Great Hall when everyone was collecting the injured and dead. He saw Ginny in a heap on the floor. None of her brothers had meant as much to her as Fred had. She was always so strong. She had held herself together through so many deaths, but nothing could stop her sorrow over her favorite brother. He stood in the Great Hall, unable to move as he heard Katie's screams, "You are lying. Why would you say that? Fred, this isn't funny. Wake up. You can't leave me. You can't." He remembered watching his friends hurting and thinking that he could stop it all by giving himself up. He realized now that it was not his fault, but at the time it didn't seem fair that the lives of such great witches and wizards were being lost to protect him.

Harry leaned forward in his chair, looking directly at Lee, something he didn't think he would have been able to do before, and said, "I'm so sorry, mate. He was one of the greatest guys I knew."

Lee nodded his head quickly. "He really was," he said, his voice cracking a bit at the end. "I'm going to head upstairs for a little. I know you saved the world and everything, but I still am not going to let you see me all weepy over my best mate."

Harry gave a sad little laugh as Lee walked back towards the dorms. He seemed to sit there for hours before he saw a familiar head of brown, bushy hair. "How are you, Harry?" Hermione asked as she sat down on the couch next to him, her voice dripping in her usual concern.

"I am actually fine," Harry said with an encouraging smile. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright," she said with a weak smile. "I'm more worried about Ron. He hasn't gotten out of bed yet."

"I'm up, I'm up," Ron called to them from over by the stairs. He jogged over to the pair and sat down next to Hermione, easily throwing an arm over her shoulders. Hermione snuggled into his side, smiling up at him lovingly. Harry didn't know if they had talked about their relationship or if the kiss had been enough, but they seemed to be together. Harry felt a pang in his chest as he thought about his own relationship. He had no idea where he stood with Ginny. He had let her stay with her family the previous night, thinking that it probably wasn't in the best taste to ask her about the status of their relationship right as she realized she had lost Fred. He didn't even know if she would want to be with him. He knew for a fact that she would not blame him for Fred's death, but would she be able to get past it. Or would she look at him and always flash back to that battle where such a vital person in her life was taken away from her. Harry could only hope that she would let him back into her life.

As the golden trio talked, Harry kept trying to think of ways to bring up Ginny. Ron was still very beaten up about Fred's death, but he wasn't as bad as Harry had expected. "I am a mess," Ron said with a laugh, "But I know Fred would not want us to cry over him too much. Plus, he died for something greater than all of us that he believed in more than anything else. Thinking about that makes it a little easier."

The crowd in the common room grew steadily as the day began. People continued to stop by both to thank Harry as well as ask how he was. Everyone started to head down to the Great Hall for food, but Harry was not yet ready to leave the comfortable common room.

"Are you sure you don't want us to wait for you?" Hermione asked as she and Ron straitened themselves and prepared to head downstairs.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks guys, but go ahead. I'll be down soon."

Harry put off the growling in his stomach as long as he could. Nearly everyone had made their way past him, but the one he wanted to see most had still not shown herself. He stood slowly, fixing everything, putting the pillows back in place perfectly; doing anything that would waste time in an attempt to 'run into her'. When he couldn't find anything else to do he resignedly started to walk over to the portrait hole. The Fat Lady swung open as he heard footsteps running down the stairs. Harry turned back to the common room to see the most beautiful girl he had ever seen skid to a halt at the base of the stairs.

She looked flustered, like she had both slept in on accident and not expected to see him at that moment. He didn't say anything, unsure of how she would react to seeing him. She studied his face with her eyes, letting them roam his entire form, taking in every bit of him. After almost a whole minute she ran across the common room, throwing herself into his arms and squeezing him tightly. She pulled back from the hug and continued to stare at him, still leaving out words. She placed her hands on his neck, letting her fingertips explore his jaw line. Harry allowed himself to do the same. She looked at him with such love, much different than the frustrated look she had worn the day before when he had tried to keep her out of the fight. Then she kissed him. It was just as intense as the kiss on his birthday, but there was so much more behind it. That kiss had been a goodbye. A please remember me. This kiss was a hello. An assertion that she still loved him and a promise from him never go away again. Harry pulled back eventually, wanting to hear the voice that had been in his head every step of his journey.

"I love you Ginny Weasley."

A huge smile broke across her face before she kissed him again. This time it was Ginny who pulled away. The look on her face would have made her mother proud. "Harry Potter," she said sternly, "if you ever try to pull that bravery, martyr shit again I will kill you myself, understand?" Harry laughed and firmly pressed his lips back against hers. He could slightly make out of mumbling, "I'm serious." against his lips and a small laugh escape her lips, the vibrations creating a swooping sensation in his stomach.

It didn't matter that she was trying to yell at him. The fact remained that she wanted to be with him. She was actually there, not some little dot on a map but the live, beautiful, incredible woman that he never wanted to be apart from again. He knew they had so much to work through and figure out, but he also knew they would do it together.

**So yeah, just a short little something. If you like it please let me know. If you don't like it you can still tell me. I want to know what to work on. Also, if you did like it (back to the positive) check out my longer story _Say It Now_. Cue shameless plug. Thanks again!**


End file.
